A jolly Juneteenth time

A jolly Juneteenth time. When I tell y’all that I’m still wore out from celebrating our freedom last Friday! I wish I could show y’all this IV drip. Just kidding, but not really. I know for a fact that I’m not the only one who turned all the way up in the name of Juneteenth. How do I know? Because I spent the whole day bouncing back and forth between Dellwood and Downtown, and the turn up at both spots was on fleek. Excuse the elderly slang. There were also 50-11 other events going on. I’m so sorry that I didn’t get a chance to attend. Brandy Clay, girl, I know your golf-themed birthday was a hole in one Lance Thurman, I’m sure that gallery experience was something else. I wish I could have been at both. I’m sad that I also had to miss the second hardest working man in 90s R&B. Sisqo has the top spot because of his acrobat antics – both with his voice and his body – but Stokely (of Mint Condition fame) is an easy second by the way he plays all the instruments and puts on a show. Stoke was at The Pageant with Kool Moe Dee on Juneteenth thanks to the Gogel Law Firm.

Double booked and a Double Dutch ditch. But let me go ahead and get to what I was able to pop in on. My Juneteenth started in Dellwood with their glorious parade. The marchers were so poised as they made their way down West Florissant that you wouldn’t have known it was 9000 degrees outside from watching the footage. Shout out to Dellwood Mayor Reggie Jones for giving the North County folks a can’t miss annual cultural event. After the parade, I mingled a little bit before I booked it down 70 to the House of Soul Juneteenth Block Party. I’m so glad that the Tucker exit didn’t get unalived by the sinkhole. I got down there without the need for a reroute. The vibe was vibing! The best way to describe it is if the daytime convention center festivities of Essence Festival – with the mingling and the vendors – were outside and in the heart of downtown St. Louis. I got my whole entire life from the Double Dutch moment. Why did I get so caught up in the nostalgia of it that I decided I was gonna gag the girls with a jump session? I had skills back in the day, including a signature spin. Too bad I got so winded with the pre-jump motion that I stepped back from the ropes with my arms still moving like I was about to hop in. How did I not even jump, but had to go cool off? After I got my second wind and third bottle of water, I was back in action – as a spectator. I watched some of my favorite folks get honored for their commitment to community. Then I literally got to see STL style at its finest thanks to the fashion show produced by Black Creatives in the Lou. It was everything! They were on their final catwalk strut when I pulled a “Dukes of Hazard” back up 70 to see the concert portion of the Dellwood Juneteenth celebration. I hope Young Joc is not offended by me saying that the bars were cool, but I need him to drop the skincare routine in a remix…ASAP. Don’t get me wrong, I still did the “It’s Going Down” dance. But the whole time I was thinking, “Is it collagen, retinol or niacinamides? He couldn’t have had Botox or fillers…but if he did, sign me up!”

Cowboy Chaifetz. The SERA Black Rodeo was back in effect at the Chaifetz for Juneteenth weekend on Saturday. I thoroughly enjoyed the looks! But let me say that a few of y’all’s aunties were out here looking like naughty cowgirls. I really hope the one who had that bandana tied around her thigh listened to her body and loosened that thing up when her leg fell asleep. I’m sure that thing was cutting off all kinds of circulation. Okay, enough of me being lousy. The folks were GIVING in their giddy up gear! And I had so much fun watching the rodeo. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t point out that one or two of those cows, bulls, steers…animals…whatever…had a bit of Ozempic face going on. My only other note for the folks when they bring the rodeo back is to write it in the contract that the DJ must play “Boots on the Ground” all the way through. 

Farewell BJ The DJ. Since I’m talking about DJs, was I the only one shook to my core when I got word that BJ The DJ was let go from iHeart? Y’all, he has been on the radio my whole entire life. I’m sad about it, but I feel like I need to let him know that his next chapter will be his best chapter. I also want to thank him for his decades of pumping up the culture and supporting the community! 

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